womens eyeglasses

How To Find Good Fit, Comfort and Durability in Eyewear

According to studies by The Vision Council, most women are more interested in the way eyeglasses look, while most men are more interested in comfort and fit. But let's face it. Even if a frame looks great, you aren't going to wear it if the fit is uncomfortable. And if your new eyeglasses are sitting in a drawer somewhere, you certainly aren't getting your money's worth.
This is a circumstance where an optician can be very helpful. For example:

Delicate details and exotic color combinations are two of this year's biggest trends in women's frames. Shown are two Fern frames from the Koali collection by Morel.

• If a frame looks good, but it slides off your nose. Your optician can fix this during the final fitting, by adjusting the temple length or the way the temple tips wrap around your ears.
• If the front is too wide and doesn't fit your face. Your optician could order the frame in another size. If it doesn't come in another size, you could be fitted with a different brand of frame that's very similar. Also, some manufacturers have released petite collections with frames that fit smaller faces.
• If the nose pads are uncomfortable. Often the optician can replace the nose pads with more comfortable ones or can find a similar style of frame with better pads.

Durability is another factor that seems to appeal more to men than to women. But you really don't want to buy a frame that falls apart after a few months. It once was easy to tell the difference between a poorly made frame and a well-constructed one. But now even cheaply made frames may be so well finished that you may not recognize when a material is easy to scratch or bend out of shape, or when the hardware will give way long before it should.
Opticians are experts on frame durability, because they see firsthand which frames customers keep bringing back for repairs, and which ones elicit few or no complaints. So be sure and ask for advice.

How Many Frames Do You Need?

Women don't hesitate to buy more than one pair of shoes, so why do many of us balk at buying more than one pair of eyeglasses? It's okay to view eyeglasses as another fun fashion accessory when you consider that: 

You can find great deals on eyewear. Look in the newspaper, or check with your eye care practitioner. Optical stores have sales all the time, including "two-for-one" or "buy-one-get-one-half-off." Often you can buy new eyeglasses for less than the price of new shoes or a purse. 

Unless they're bottom-of-the-barrel, eyeglass frames usually last a long time. If you are like most eyeglass wearers, your prescription isn't going to change every year, and you'll likely hold onto those frames for a long while. Do you wear the same shoes or earrings every single day for years? Probably not, so why would you want to wear the same frame every day? 

Eyewear is more than a medical device. Some women think gold frames go with everything, and that might be true for them. But is it true for you? You might be more interested in a copper-colored metal frame for when you're wearing jeans, a blond tortoise plastic frame for the office and a pretty rhinestone-studded silver frame for an evening out. It's fun to consider the options.
If you really are on a tight budget, then by all means choose one frame that you'll be happy wearing with any outfit and in any situation. Opticians excel at helping their customers find such frames.